Theme: God's Charge Against the Nation Israel

Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1

Theme: God's charge against the nation Israel

Michael Fronczak

564 Schaeffer Dr.

Coldwater, Michigan 49036

Eastpoint Community Church

Isaiah 1:1 (KJV)
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Jerusalem is called by more than 30 different names.

There are at least seven men by the name of Isaiah in the Bible, but only one is Isaiah, the son of Amoz.

Isaiah was married and was the father of at least two sons (Isaiah 7:3 and 8:3). He lived in Jerusalem (Isaiah 7:3, 22:1, 37:2, 38:5, and 39:3).

There is a strong Judeo-Christian tradition that holds that Isaiah also outlived Hezekiah and was sawn asunder by his successor Manasseh with a wooden saw after the prophet had hidden himself in a hollow tree from the angry king. (Bultema) Many think Hebrews 11:37 (they were sawn in two) is a reference to the martyrdom of Isaiah.

Isaiah’s prophecies focus on Judah and Jerusalem. His book is called a vision, which suggests that the prophet “saw” (cf. 2:1) mentally and spiritually as well as heard what God communicated to him. This word “vision” also introduces the prophecies of Obadiah, Micah, and Nahum.

Isaiah was familiar with the city of Jerusalem and its temple and royal court. By this time the Northern Kingdom (Israel) was in its final years. The Northern Kingdom fell in 722 b.c. to the Assyrians who were seeking to conquer the entire Syro-Palestine area. Isaiah wrote specifically for the Southern Kingdom (Judah), which would fall to the Babylonian Empire a little more than 100 years later in 586 b.c.[1]

First of all, note that this is a vision "concerning Judah and Jerusalem." I am sure that we will not make the mistake of locating either one anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. There is, however, a marvelous application for America today -- one that we need to hear and heed.

"In the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah." Uzziah, the tenth king of Judah, became a leper because he intruded into the holy place, which even a king was not permitted to do. However, Uzziah is classed as a good king. Jotham, his son who followed him, was also a good king. But Ahaz, the grandson of Uzziah, was a bad king. Finally, Hezekiah, the last king mentioned, was a good king. He was the king who asked that his life be prolonged, and God granted his desire. Asking this was probably a mistake on Hezekiah's part, because many bad things took place during his last years that actually were the undoing of the kingdom.[2]

The book claims Isaiah as its author. His name ("The LORD Saves") summarizes the revelation of the book, namely, that it is Yahweh who saves. Obadiah was the only other writing prophet who described his book as a vision. This unusual title stresses that what Isaiah wrote reflects reality accurately; he saw it. The kings of Judah mentioned ruled from 792-686 B.C. [3]

These verses are in the form of a covenant lawsuit against Judah. In effect, it is a microcosm of chapters 1-39. The Lord, through His messenger Isaiah, indicted His covenant nation for her breach of the Mosaic Covenant, and offered His complete forgiveness to those who would repent but judgment to those who continued to rebel. In 6:9-13 God pointed out to Isaiah that most of the nation, however, would not repent.[4]

2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Through v. 23: the chastening (re: Deut 28-29) has been visited upon theland and the time of expulsion is near. The renewal of the PalestinianCovenant of future restoration is included (Isa 1:26-27; 2:1-4).[5]

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! God is calling heaven and earth as witnesses against Judah. The leaders and people of Judah have resisted His will, and God will state His case against them. We might think of heaven and earth as a jury God will present the case before.

God begins this prophecy in a majestic manner. This is God's general judgment against Judah. He is calling the world, if you please, to come into the courtroom and listen to the proceedings as He tries His people. God does not do anything in a corner or in the dark. This language is strangely similar to the way Deuteronomy 32 begins: "Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." When God put the nation Israel in the land, having taken them out of the land of Egypt, He put down the conditions on which He was "homesteading" them in the Promised Land. He called the created intelligences of heaven and earth to witness these conditions.

Now, after five hundred years, God says, "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." He is ready to take them out of the land and send them into Babylonian captivity. He calls the created intelligences of heaven and earth to witness that He is just and right in His dealings. His charge against them is rebellion. The condition upon which they were allowed to dwell in the land was obedience. They were disobedient; and, according to the Mosaic Law, when a man had a rebellious son, that son was to be stoned to death. God's charge against them is a serious one. As His children, they had rebelled against the Mosaic Law in this connection. In the Book of Deuteronomy note the law concerning an incorrigible son: "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear" (Deut. 21:18-21).

This was what the Law did with a prodigal son. The crowd that heard Christ tell of the Prodigal Son was dumbfounded when He said that the father told the servant to kill the fatted calf instead of killing the son! When the Prodigal Son got home, he asked his father for forgiveness, and even before he finished his confession, his father had thrown his arms around the boy, kissed him, and forgiven him. Instead of stripes, the son was given a wonderful feast. God is not only just, but also merciful; but the rebellion of a son is a serious thing. Scripture has a great deal to say about it.

In order to emphasize His charge and break the tension of the courtroom, God indulges in a bit of humor. I trust that you recognize humor in the Bible -- it will make you enjoy it a great deal more. I think that when we get into eternity and get past the time of sin on earth and are finished with the program God is working out at this present time, we are going to have a good time. I think we are going to have many laughs and enjoy many hilarious situations. It does not hurt Christians to have the right kind of humor. God has put a lot of humor in the Bible. A lady, who was a member of a church I pastored, was upset every time I found humor in the Bible. She would make a trip down the aisle and tell me that I was being irreverent. She has been home with the Lord for a long time, and I do hope she has had a couple of good laughs, because she certainly never had them down here. The fact of the matter is, she acted like she had been weaned on a dill pickle. Unfortunately, she never found humor in this life, and she didn't seem to enjoy the Christian life as God has intended us to enjoy it.[6]

3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

This verse is a splendid piece of satire. The two animals that are used for illustrations do not have a reputation for being very intelligent. Neither the ox nor the long-eared donkey has a very high I.Q. The expression "dumb as an ox" is still often used. The donkey does not wear a Phi Beta Kappa key. I should qualify that statement: I admit that I have met a few who do! However, even these animals have intelligence enough to know who feeds them.

A number of folk today do not have intelligence enough to know that God provides for all their needs. They don't know that God feeds them. They do not even recognize that He exists. What a commentary on this sophisticated generation that no longer needs God. [7]

God Himself charged the Israelites with their sin. He called the heavens and earth to witness His indictment against His people (cf. Deut. 30:19; 32:1). His people had not only violated His covenant but common decency and good sense. Isaiah's references to the Mosaic Covenant were less explicit than Jeremiah's were, though both men viewed the covenant as the

basis of Israelite life.

It was unthinkable that children should revolt against a loving father whonurtured them. Even stupid oxen and donkeys know their master, but theIsraelites did not realize who cared for them. The Israelites made animalslook intelligent.[8]

In this type of lawsuit the accuser first established his own innocence in the matter. TheLord, like a parent, did this by noting that the people of Judah, His children (cf. v. 4), had rebelled (cf. ”rebels“ in v. 28) against Him, who was innocent in the matter. The Hebrew word rendered ”rebelled“ (pāša‘) was used in treaties to speak of a vassal state’s disobedience to the covenant made with it by the suzerain nation. Pāša‘ also occurs in 66:24, the final verse in the book.

Even animals know their masters, but the nation Israel did not know and did not understand God, her Master. (Israel, though often referring to the Northern Kingdom, is sometimes, as here, used of the nation of 12 tribes as a whole, and thus includes Judah.) An ox is unusually submissive; in Bible times a donkey was known for its stupidity. Therefore to say Israel was less knowledgeable than these domestic animals was an amazingly strong affirmation of her stupidity. These animals were more aware of their owners and the source of sustenance (manger was a feeding trough for animals) from their owners than were God’s people. Israel did not know God or realize that He was her Provider. By being rebellious (1:2b) the nation failed to carry out God’s commands, which proved they did not really ”understand“ God.[9]

4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

We see God as the Judge of all the earth and of His own people Israel. It seems a strange thing to think of God as a judge, because in the thinking of the world today God has been removed from the throne of judgment. He has been divested of His authority. He has been robbed of His regal prerogatives and shorn of His locks as moral ruler of the universe. Israel is described as "a people laden with iniquity." This phrase throws a world of light upon the personal invitation that the Lord Jesus gave in the New Testament. He said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Now we know what He meant -- "laden with iniquity." The people of Israel were laden with sin. Today His invitation goes out to those who are laden with sin to bring that burden and load to Him and find rest, the rest of redemption.

In this verse God spells out Israel's condition. They are backslidden, they have turned away from God, and they are a people laden with iniquity. Now He is going to spell out in detail the charge that He has made against them.

This brings to mind the philosophy of human government upon which God operates. This system is presented to us in the Book of Judges, and you see this cycle of the history of human government working itself out in the nation. In the Book of Judges we saw Israel serving God, being blessed of God, and prospering. They began, in their prosperity, to turn away from God, and they finally turned to idolatry. They were in rebellion against God; in fact, they forgot Him. Then God delivered them into the hands of the enemy. In a short time they began to cry out to God for deliverance. When they turned to God, He delivered them from their enemies and put them back in the place of blessing. This picture follows all the way through Scripture, and history corroborates the fact that there are three steps in the downfall of any nation. There is religious apostasy, then moral awfulness, and finally political anarchy. Many people don't pay any attention to the cycle until the stage of political anarchy is reached, and then they cry out that the government should be changed and a new system adopted. Well, the problem is not in the government. The problem in Jerusalem was not in the palace, but the problem was within the temple. The trouble begins when there is spiritual apostasy.[10]

In His lawsuit God elaborated on the sinful condition of the nation. This idea that the nation was sinful (ḥāṭā’) occurs a number of times in the book (e.g., cf. “sinned” in 42:24; 43:27 and “continued to sin” in 64:5).

Isaiah spoke of the “sins” (ḥăṭā’îm) of the people (1:18) and noted that the Suffering Servant came to remove “the sin (ḥēṭ’) of many” in the nation (53:12). Because of their sin, the people stood guilty before God (cf. Rom. 3:9, 19, kjv). Because they were evildoers, they were corrupt (cf. Rom. 3:10-18 and the word “corrupt” in Gen. 6:12). Their deliberately defiant attitude against God is indicated by the words forsaken . . . spurned, and turned their backs.

As stated in the Introduction, the words the Holy One of Israel are used by Isaiah 25 times. This title appropriately contrasts the people’s sin with God’s holiness.

Though the people had turned their backs on God, in the future He will turn His back on Israel’s sin by forgiving her. After Hezekiah was raised from his sickbed, he praised the Lord for placing his sins behind God’s back (Isa. 38:17).[11]

5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

During the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah, they were attacked and pillaged by Israel, Syria, Edom, the Philistines, and Assyria (2 Chronicles 28). It was written of this period, For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the Lord. (2 Chronicles 28:19)[12]

7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Total destruction: Deut 29:22; Amos 9:11; Isa 13; Jer 50.

What God says in these verses is absolutely true. There is moral awfulness and political anarchy, but God is holding back. This still is not the charge that He is bringing against them.[13]

When the covenant people turned their backs on God (v. 4) certain consequences followed (cf. Deut. 28:15-68). Isaiah recounted what was happening to them to help them understand that their difficult times had come because of their disobedience. Isaiah first used the figure of a person who had been beaten and was bruised over his entire body (Isa. 1:5-6). Though these untreated wounds . . . welts, and open sores characterized the nation’s spiritual condition, Isaiah was also speaking of her condition militarily. They were beset on all sides by hostile forces and were losing some of their territory to foreign nations (v. 7). They should have realized that these terrible problems had come because of their spiritual condition. Whether Isaiah was describing the soon-coming situation in the Northern Kingdom to be brought about by the Assyrian invasion (in 722 b.c.) or whether he was speaking prophetically of the coming destruction of Judah (586 b.c.) is open to conjecture though it more likely refers to Judah. His words desolate . . . burned, and stripped were written as if the devastation had already happened. Thus he emphasized its certainty.[14]